Downieville, Lake Tahoe and on to Sacramento May 21-23

After saying our goodbyes to Donnie,

Donnie Russel & Boyd at Donnie's House - Downieville

and the eclectic apartment overlooking the Downie River,

Apt. overlooking Downie River at Donnie's

we left Downieville around 9:30 having stocked up on Entenmann's donuts and orange juice at the only grocery store in Downieville. We went back up Hwy 49 through Sierra City, on through Sierraville, to Truckee and down the mountain into N. Tahoe and it's ski oriented businesses, short-term rentals and magnificent homes.  We decided to take the northern route around Lake Tahoe as we would not be returning this way due to our impending trip to Sacramento.  Stopping at a lakeside viewing area we took in the magnificently blue/green waters of Lake Tahoe,

Boyd - N. Lake Tahoe

Two Lovebirds by Lake Tahoe

it's immensity and the snow capped peaks that make it a singularly majestic setting.

Driving around the lake we came into some fairly heavy rain showers and the temp dropped a few degrees before we found ourselves in S. Tahoe, and crossing the state line into Nevada, the world of casinos such as the Hard Rock Cafe, Hotel/Casino and Harrah's. We stopped and got a few essentials before locating Fallen Leaf Campground, which included some nice red wines, Sausalito cookies and English Muffins.  Fallen Leaf Campground was about 3.5 miles further along past the end of S. Tahoe.  While we had a break in the rain, we made camp

and then went exploring initially by car to the Mt. Tallac historic site across the road from the campsite, and then to Emerald Bay and Eagle Falls.  Emerald Bay even in the overcast conditions was quintessentially alpine and stunning to see. You view the bay from 3-400 ft. up by the road.  Eagle Falls cascades from further up the mountains and allows a close up view as it tumbles on to the bay below.  We rock hopped to the middle of the falls to get the best view.  Returning to the campsite, we drove to Fallen Leaf Lake, which was found by driving 3-4 miles inland towards the mountains.  A beautiful lake that reminded me of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, with spectacular mountain style homes nestled along the lake shore and towering snow capped peaks above.  Returning to camp, we got on our bikes and followed the path back to the lake which had taken on a somewhat ethereal quality in the late afternoon light, with lightly falling rain.  Went as far as a 1934 dam that was controlling the lake's water level then turned around to camp.  We cracked open one of the Reds, and settled into the nice warm Go, courtesy of our camp stove. Around 8PM, Andrea heated up some Trader Joe's vegetarian chilly and quinoa  for dinner.  The lights unexpectedly went out from our solar battery around 9PM so we called it a night, and crawled into our winter sleeping bags with extra blankets.

Awoke the next morning at 39 degrees and some considerable condensation inside undoubtedly from our exhalations throughout the night.  With the stove cranked up for a few minutes things started to dry out, and after a breakfast of English muffins with organic peanut butter and honey, we got into the Highlander and headed north up Hwy 89 towards Tahoe City.  Our first stop was Vikings Home,

Andrea at Vikings Home on Emerald Bay

a stone residence of some grandeur built by a woman from Santa Barbara in 1929 to be her summer residence.  She designed it to be an authentic Swedish Castle with all the stone and wood trimmings. To get to the castle, one must walk down towards the bay about a mile.  There the castle sits just up from the bay nestled within the old growth fir and cedar trees which were left intact by the original owner.

After walking  back up to the  parking lot, with some heavy breathing from the altitude of about 6,500 ft., we made our way along the highway to D.L Bliss State Park and hiked the Rubicon Trail to Rubicon Point while also taking in Hanging Rock.

Andrea at Rubicon Point

You can see some 70 ft. down into the clear waters of Lake Tahoe from it's heights above the water.

Andrea with Sugar Pine Cone on the Rubicon Trail

View from Rubicon Point to East Side of Lake Tahoe

and stopped for lunch at Sunnyside, a small community centered around the tourist trade on the west side of Lake Tahoe.  In a phone call to my mother, she recalled that she had camped at Carnelian By which is just north of Tahoe City when she was 6 years of age with her grandparents from Reno. It was a lonely park back then, but you could still find carnelian stones at the time.  After a delightful lunch at the Firesign Restaurant and a lager, Andrea kindly drove back to camp with me drifting off from the post prandial dip and slow motion swaying from the roadways curves.    I had a short nap as did Andrea, then we took off on the mountain bikes initially to the Lake Tahoe Visitor's Center just a 10 minutes ride away, then down through a riparian section of land

Andrea - riding through Riparian Section en route to beach from Visitors Center

to the long beach of sand at the cold water's edge.  Lake Tahoe at 1600 ft. deep never freezes, albeit with water temps going down to 39 degrees in the depths.  Watch an amazing acrobatic display by a Doberman Pincher jumping for a stick that his master was waving over his head before throwing far out into the crystal waters.  This dog got a good 3-4 feet in straight vertical jumps.

After a short bike down the bike path leading West around the lake, we returned to camp, changed into some decent clothes and took off to Harrah's.

Andrea at Harrah's

 The casino was a bit daunting for the neophytes, but we got a drink at the bar, got a restaurant recommendation (Friday Night) on the 18th floor overlooking Lake Tahoe and proceeded to have an outstanding albeit expensive dinner with a marvelous Spanish wine, Bierzo Vico Mencia 2010 for $66, with it's mildly spicy, rich notes.

My Andrea at Friday Nights - 18th Fl. Harrah's

 Dinner started with a wild mushroom puff pastry, followed by filet mignon, scampi with fettuccine, fresh vegetables, followed by a lemon cheesecake and coffee.  Watched a drone quad copter tool around the skies  and snooping into the hotel and restaurant windows before landing in the Hard Rock Cafe parking lot some 18 stories below.  We managed to blow through $20 on the slots without nary a thought on how stacked the odds were against us, then returned to the Go for a good nights sleep.

Broke camp in the rain on the Saturday the 23rd. which I am always loathfull to do fearing mold might grown when the tent is packed up into it's fiberglass shell. We climbed back up the mountains, nearly getting hit head on by a vehicle traveling too fast downhill around a curve.  He was a good four foot over the yellow line on my side when I corrected with  quick jog right, hoping the trailer would follow adroitly.  We survived the potential head-on crash and proceeded to make our way through the mountains west till we stopped at Placerville (old Hangtown due to the fact this is where they hung those found guilty of murder back in the gold rush days).  Found a long parking spot at Bank of America, opened the Go up and let it dry and followed this with a nice lunch at a nearby bakery/restaurant.  Rolled into Sacramento around 1:30 and found the Giustina's longing on their front porch.

Their home is a beautiful 1920 home on the east side of Sacramento, where they have lived for 30 years, with Tom working as a Dermatologist at a nearby Kaiser hospital.  They planted numerous trees in their backyard with small pool and it has created an intimate oasis.
Inside the house is tastefully decorated with artwork from Robin, very colorful and fun.  Their son, GianCarlo was a playmate of Jess's back in Ann Arbor where Tom did his residency.  He is now 34, having graduated from Stanford in engineering design, and has a successful engineering job with Google, which often find him in China.  He previously designed the Nest thermostat among other things.

The afternoon which was bright and sunny found us biking to the American River

Tom, Andrea and Robin on bridge over American River - Sacramento

and back by the the University of CA Sacramento.  Stopped and had pink lemonade at a stand two high school girls had set up roadside.  Returning to the Giustina's we had cheeses and Gin and Tonics on their front porch followed by a dinner in the backyard

Robin,Tom & Boyd in Giustina's backyard

by the fountain of ribs, salad, grilled asparagus and a nice red wine.

Andrea, Robin and Tom Giustina in their backyard - Sacramento, CA

 Shortly thereafter, we crashed in their back room and awoke this Sunday morning around 5:45 to the sound of coffee being ground. Upon exiting our room into the kitchen, Robin had a spread of fresh fruit, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt which we had with our coffee at their breakfast table.

We all got into Tom's bright red Audi and dropped Andrea off at the airport for her Southwest flight to San Diego, where she will connect with a United flight to Denver and on to Orlando.  Got a text as they wouldn't honor the free bags we supposedly get by purchasing our ticket with the United Mileage card.  She was not a happy camper, and hoping the balance of her trip goes better.

Closing this off for now, as we are headed to the Crocker Museum and thence to a jazz festival in Sacramento.